Selfish?
by DragonMasterOf10
Summary: This is just my little twist on how I thought Danny should have reacted to his friend's behavior after he lost his powers. Please read, really proud of this and my first Danny Phantom fic!
1. Chapter 1

I've been a Danny Phantom fan for years but never really got inspired to write any fanfics until I recently watch PP. The scene where Danny finally loses his powers kinda pissed me off because of how everyone was reacting and calling Danny selfish. Here's how I wish it had gone.

...

Danny stumbled out of the destroyed ghost portal, his clothes tattered and a white streak going through his jet black hair. He could already feel the absence of his powers, an empty feeling inside him where his ghost half used to reside.

Finally.

"I-I did it. They're gone. I'm normal!" Danny laughed happily. He swore he could cry. He just might.

On the other side of the room his two best friends Sam and Tucker watched him sadly, Danny's older sister Jazz shaking her head in disappointment, "I'm happy for you Danny. But it's too bad. I feel like I lost a good friend I just started to get to know."

Danny's excitement died down quickly as he looked at the other three. They sure as hell didn't look happy for him, "Why am I the only one not bummed about this? This is great! We can finally do normal stuff without being attacked by ghosts!" No more fearing for his life, or missing out on school dances or time with his family, more time to actually do his school work without being interrupted by a ghost attack...

"Yeah great. You're normal. Whoopee." Sam muttered sarcastically, crossing her arms.

"Guess we're gonna have to find other ways to spend our time huh?" Tucker sighed sadly, his shoulders slumping. Danny clenched his fists. This was supposed to be a good thing. Why were they acting like this? It wasn't fair!

"What's wrong with you guys?" He scowled.

"Us? What's wrong with you? You just gave up powers no one else had, powers that helped people! I can't believe how selfish you're being Danny!" Sam snapped.

The raven haired boy felt his heart start to race with his anger. "Selfish? You think I'm being selfish?" He whispered in a deadly calm voice. This couldn't be happening.

"Yes, you are." Sam and Jazz huffed. Tucker kept his mouth shut, not disagreeing with the girls but not defending his best friend either.

Danny took a deep breath, "Tell me guys, how exactly am I selfish?" He asked calmly. Sam put her hands on her hips, "Well, let's see. Maybe because you just gave up amazing powers that made you a hero just because you were having a little bad luck?" She glared.

"Oh I see. So, you think my parents being sent to prison is bad luck? You think my friends and family constantly being attacked by ghosts that are really after me is bad luck? You think literally being hunted down by the living dead and nearly killed every single day is just bad luck!?" Danny snarled, his voice raising as he ranted. If he still had his powers his eyes would be glowing green right then.

The goth girl flinched a bit but didn't back down, "You're making it sound worse than it really is. Stop being such a baby."

Danny panted, "I'm being a baby? Not wanting to risk the lives of my family is me being a baby!?"

"Danny come on, it isn't really that bad dude. We always come out ok." Tucker finally piped in, but naturally his big mouth only managed to piss the now fully human boy off more. "Sure, you and Sam got out just fine because you're always on the sidelines! You're not the ones getting punched and thrown around and hit with fucking lasers!" Danny snapped. He was tempted to rip his shirt off and show all the scars that littered his small frame. He hadn't had his powers for more than a year and already he looked like he'd gone to hell and back. Actually, he kind of had, multiple times. The only scar Tucker had was from a chicken pox he had scratched too much and Sam had one on her knee from a bike riding accident she had gotten into in grade school.

"Well... We still have to clean up after the mess those lasers made you know!" Sam shot back, as though that would end the argument with her as the winner.

"Oh, I am so so sorry I didn't keep things tidy while trying to keep my head from getting blown up and keep you guys from getting killed." Danny snorted humorlessly.

"Dude, you could have stuck around after the fights to help clean."

Danny narrowed his eyes, "I pass out after almost every fight Tuck. Sorry, but I would rather leave and pass out in an ally where I can change into my human self where I won't be seen and taken in for experimentation than stay and help clean."

Tucker and Sam flinched a bit. They couldn't even count how many times they'd had to search for Danny's unconscious form and carry him home.

"But Danny you're... You're normal now. How is that any fun?" Sam said softly.

Danny gave her a strange look before his eyes widened and his heart sank. It was obvious Sam liked him despite how much she rejected it. But as Danny thought back, she had never shown any signs of liking him as more than a friend before he'd gotten his powers. Before Jazz found out about Danny's powers she treated him like an annoying little brother and did everything she could to stay away from him. Tucker never nearly took as much interest in the Fenton's technology until he'd seen Danny first use the thermos.

The relationship he had with these people standing in front of him only existed because he had super powers. They didn't want Danny Fenton. They wanted Danny Phantom.

"So... So because I'm normal, I'm not worth your time?" He whispered.

Jazz sighed in exasperation, unknowingly breaking her little brother's heart more with her uncaring attitude. This was how she treated him before she knew about Danny Phantom. Like he was just an annoying kid. "Danny you're twisting our words."

"You just said that because I'm normal I'm not fun anymore! How else am I supposed to take that? You know what, screw it. Screw you. I'm only fourteen years old and I've faced death more times than anyone in Amity Park combined. Maybe even the whole world. People want to kill me. Do you understand how terrifying that is? People want me fucking dead! Even my own parents! Imagine having your parents point a gun at your face and call you an evil monster every time they saw you as what is supposed to be a hero! What's even more depressing? They've stood mere feet away from me and couldn't even recognize me. All that changes is my hair and eyes. And still they don't realize they're trying to kill they're son!" Danny cried, tears welling in his blue eyes.

The other three teens stared at the boy in shock. He was right. Being fourteen and having not one, but two different worlds that want you dead? Sure Danny had fans in this world, but they were strangers. What did it matter what they thought? The boy's parents thought he was an evil being that deserved to die. Vlad, the man who could have been his uncle, tried to kill him every time he saw him. An entire agency of heavily armed men were after the boy in hopes of dissecting him.

Danny was only fourteen. Just a child. And people who are supposed to protect and help him want him to die.

Now here his supposed friends are telling him he was selfish for not wanting to continue on with that life. A life he hadn't chosen. Sam frowned as she thought about this. Danny didn't have to keep his powers after he got them. He could have told his parents and asked them to help him. Hell, Danny did lose his powers quite a few times but still he always did what he could to get them back to help those he loved.

The three teens stood, looking guilty as their constant savior stood crying because of them.

Danny wasn't being selfish. They were.

"Sorry Danny Fenton isn't good enough for you." Danny whispered and left the destroyed laboratory to go bail his parents out of prison.

None of his friends tried to stop him. They didn't deserve his forgiveness. He had already given enough.

...

And then later on they would make up and the rest of PP would happen because Danny is an awesome and selfless hero and everyone else is a bunch of dicks that rely way too much on a freaking child.

Hope you enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

I thought it might be fun to expand a little further further on this so I'll make it a two or three shot :)

...

It didn't take long for Danny to miss his powers. He had loved helping people and it was nice to have fans, but how could he really care about what they had to say after they all threw him away like trash just because a new ghost group came in? It wasn't like he left Amity Park unprotected, Master's Blasters were very skilled and capable of keeping everyone safe. Danny was of course pissed to find that Vlad had them charging people for being saved but there wasn't much he could do about it. If he tried to take Vlad on now he would only get his ass kicked by Plassmius and further humiliate himself.

Danny knew that he had fallen right into Vlad's trap by stripping himself of his powers but he couldn't help the feeling of relief that washed over him when ever a ghost came and he knew he wasn't expected to save the day. He didn't have an entire cities life depending on him.

Although it did suck that he couldn't get payback on Dash anymore. Danny wanted nothing more than to shove Dash's head through the roof of the school and leave him there after the jock had strung the smaller boy up by his underwear in the girls' bathroom.

Which was where he had seen Sam for the first time in weeks. Danny hadn't spoken to his friends or sister, and they hadn't approached him.

The goth girl rose an eyebrow and crossed her arms, "Dash?"

"Dash."

Sam helped the boy down and turned around to give him some privacy while he fixed his boxers. "Thanks." Danny mumbled before hurrying out of the bathroom. Luckily Sam had been the only girl to walk in on him.

"Danny wait!" Sam sighed, following him.

Danny reluctantly turned to her, "What?"

"Look, I'm sorry we acted how we did. But can you blame us? I mean... You helped so many people. You could do what no one else could and you just threw that away. Don't the people you protected matter anymore?" Sam frowned.

Danny groaned and rubbed his face, "Its not that they don't matter Sam! They're the reason I gave up my powers! I gave it up for them and for you and my family! Don't you get it?"

"No Danny, I don't get it. I don't get how you can just sit on the sidelines and do nothing." Sam said.

"I don't enjoy it. I want to help Sam, but people don't want my help. If I was such a great hero than how could they toss me aside so fast when a new group came along? Hell I wouldn't have minded teaming up with Master's Blasters if it kept the city safe, plus I would have been able to keep an eye on Vlad, but the people didn't want me." He said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"That didn't stop you from helping them before they liked you."

"That's because they had no one else to keep them safe back then. My parents were perfectly useless and no one else believed in ghosts yet. This time is different. I didn't leave them defenseless." Danny sighed and leaned against the lockers. He was tired of explaining himself.

"They're charging people Danny."

"I know. I had to pay them fifty bucks the other day."

"It isn't right "

"There's nothing I can do about it now Sam."

"Yeah, you made sure of that." Sam glared.

Danny straightened, "You know what, fuck you! If you hadn't pressured me into going in the portal in the first place these ghosts wouldn't even be here!"

Sam blinked, "I pressured you!? I didn't shove you in there Danny! You could have said no!"

"Yeah and then you'd act like I was a jerk for not listening to you. Something you always do by the way. If Tuck or I don't listen to what you say you give us the silent treatment. Look at how you treat us! You do the same thing! No wait, I'm wrong. You do listen, but then you tell us we're idiots." Danny glared.

"Because you guys complain about stupid stuff." Sam scoffed.

"So me not wanting to unnecessarily put not only myself but my family in danger is stupid?"

"The way you went about 'protecting' us is what's stupid!"

Danny ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "You're not understanding what I'm saying damn it! I'm the reason Amity Parks been attacked by ghosts for the last year! Ever since I sent those first ghosts back to the ghost zone more of them came here to check out the halfa and see how tough I am!"

"What about that crazy lunch lady? She didn't come here to 'check you out'. She was just haunting." Sam pointed out. It was a weak defense but it was still a defense.

"That one was on you. You're the one who changed the menu and I still saved your ass. Now that crazy lady hates me and wants me dead too. You're welcome by the way." Danny snorted.

"You're being childish."

"You're being a bad friend."

Sam stomped her foot in anger. How dare he! "A bad friend!? I'm a bad friend for wanting you to-" "Risk the lives of my family and friends? You're still not listening Sam. You have to stop pushing your ideas onto other people! Don't get me wrong, I love that you have your own beliefs and you stick to them but you can't force it on others! You hate that people talk crap about you for being different, and you bitch about society forcing its ideas on everyone, but you do the exact same thing! Sorry, I didn't want to use my powers to get rid of those 'environment killing SUVs' but I can't just damage property because you don't like it. And I'm sorry that I would prefer my friends and family stay safe than continue to protect a city that no longer needs protecting." Danny glared.

Sam tried to think of a comeback but couldn't. Its true she and Tucker used to ask Danny to use his powers to help them with personal stuff. And then if Danny used his powers to help himself with something personal, she would tell Danny he was irresponsible.

"Say Sam, if my powers were so amazing and helped people why didn't you do what I did and get them yourself?"

She blinked in surprise at the question, "What?"

"You heard me. The ghost portal was always there. And I know you know how you could have done it because you're the one who set the portal up to give me my powers after you wished you hadn't met me. Why didn't you just give yourself the powers? Then you could have used the powers however you wanted to." Danny asked, tilting his head.

Sam looked like a fish out of water, opening and closing her mouth in search of an answer. She had none. She simply didn't think about that. That was actually a good idea. She and Tucker wanted to help Danny protect people but they were limited to what they could do. She had never considered doing what Danny had done and give herself powers. Instead she continuously relied only on her friend to do the more dangerous work, often criticizing him afterwards.

"Well... Because..." She stammered.

"That's what I thought. I'm happy that you thought I was the only one who could protect people but you're wrong. You and Tuck were capable too. If my parents manage to fix the portal, you can go in and deal with the stress of knowing that if you mess up even a little it could cost you the lives of the ones you care about most. But I'm done. I'll do what I can to help, just don't expect me to go ghost. Sorry if that sounds boring to you but I just can't do it anymore." Danny said softly.

"I can't believe that after everything we've been through you're just giving up on us." Sam glared.

"I'm not giving up on you. I'm giving up on myself."

Again, Sam didn't stop her friend as he walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tkb0**: I have heard of the show and it does seem interesting, I'll def check it out :) I wasn't saying Danny's age had to do with whether or not he helped people, I was saying it just isn't fair to put pressure on a kid whose trying his best. And I don't mean to make Sam sound like a jerk but her opinion was already voiced in PP, and the point of this fic is to show Danny's side of things since he didn't get to say much in PP. So I do understand Sam's side, but she's part of a majority on the outside of things. This actually bothered me when you said Danny never thanked her because he always thanks Sam and Tucker for helping him. If anything its Sam and Tucker that don't thank him as often as they should. I can only think of a few episodes where they say 'good job', and that's it. Danny is the only one with superpowers so it just irks me how Sam talks like she knows better than him. I love Sam, she's my second favorite character, but I just believe she crossed a few lines in PP.

**Guest**: Thank you for the review, and I agree the people had a right to be cautious, but I'd like to point out that during the parade a little boy quite literally threw away a Danny Phantom doll and said he was yesterdays news. They weren't being cautious, they were choosing favorites because Masters Blasters kept beating the ghosts Danny had tried to save them from. And then the people only showed that Danny was in his underwear at the scene of the fight and did not give him credit for trying to help. Also we need to remember that Danny is only a kid and can't be expected to act maturely when an entire town he devoted his life to suddenly tells him he isn't good enough. So he did not throw them away, he felt rejected and that sucks since he only ever wanted to help them and never gave them a reason to not trust him. Where exactly is the support of his fans there? And thanks to Dash, Vlad, Valerie, and the ghost zone, Danny already knows that not everyone is going to like him. And his friends were in the wrong because they were basically telling Danny to keep risking his life otherwise he was being selfish. As I said, they don't have powers, so they don't have ghosts trying to kill them and can't tell Danny to tough it out when they don't know what it feels like to have two different worlds that want you dead. I love Sam, honest I do, but I didn't say she never helped him, I said she wasn't always as supportive as she could be. And Danny didn't know that an asteroid was coming at the time he stripped himself of his powers so you can't really use that against him. Plus his parents were in handcuffs because of him, and what kid wouldn't be freaking out, right? This turned out longer than I meant for it to be lol but I do see your points and I understand.

**Bluemarvel0**: Thank you, I would have liked to see a little more of Danny's side in PP too. They just kinda had him stuttering and fumbling for excuses that he already had but never got to say.

**Katty 99**: Thanks, I'm glad you like it!

**Invader Johny**: Yeah it always annoyed me how in the show we would only hear what Sam had to say and suddenly anyone who objected was in the wrong. I love her but she's a bit of a hypocrite.

**JP-Rider**: Thanks for the review!

**Guest** (I'm assuming a different person from the other guest): Thank you, it always seemed unfair that people judge a child who could easily give them the finger and do nothing to help even if he had his powers.

**Princessofwriting**: Thank you, I hope you're liking the continuation :)

**DannyPhantom619**: Thank you :)

...

Danny's heart stopped when the news came on reporting the upcoming arrival of an asteroid that would destroy the Earth in a week. He could almost hear his friends and sister think that if he still had his powers he could save them. Danny almost wanted to flip them the finger when Vlad proved that Danny couldn't have done anything either with his powers.

But with only a few short days left to live, Danny knew that he would never forgive himself if he didn't make up with Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. So when Sam sat next to him on his doorsteps he didn't send her away.

"Hey." Sam said awkwardly.

"Hey."

They were silent for a few more terribly awkward moments before the goth girl finally sighed, "I'm sorry."

Danny smiled, "Me too."

"I still think you over reacted a little. You abandoned everyone." Danny wanted to take his sorry back. "I abandoned them? Sam, a kid threw away my doll and his mom said I was yesterdays news." he glared.

"But they said that they love you." Sam said.

"No, they said they lov_ed_ me. As in used to. As in not anymore." Danny said. He didn't really care if the people liked him or not. They weren't even the reason he gave up. It still hurt though, that after everything he'd done for them, they could forget about him so easily. "And I did still help them even after that and the assholes took pictures of me in my underwear and said I was a naked menace." Danny scowled bitterly. Vlad had made a builboard of those pictures just to worsen the poor boys humiliation. Danny hadn't even been credited for at least attempting to help before the ghosts burned his clothes off and the Master's Blasters came in.

Sam sat quietly, nodding slowly in agreement, "Want to know something thats bothered me for a while?"

"What?" Danny sighed.

"As far as Amity Park kows, you're a dead kid. A little boy who died and came back just to try and help. But no one really seems to care." Sam said softly, smoothing her skirt out on her lap. The boy frowned as he thought about this. That's true. No one but his friends, sister, Vlad, and Valerie knew that the ghost boy was actually half a living boy. The entire ghost zone knew too but they didn't care. They were dead, so they had no pity for his ghost half, and they hate humans, so they cared even less for his living half.

"That is kind of messed up. But I guess growing up with parents who taught me that all ghosts were evil, I can understand everyone's thinking. " Danny said, leaning back on his elbows as he sipped at his drink from the Nasty Burger. Sam nodded in agreement, "Anyways... I'm sorry. You're right, I can't just assume that you're being selfish. I never really thought of it as people wanting you dead. You just seem so invincible and... I guess I never considered that you might actually be suffering from the hero thing. It was wrong of me to call you seflish for not wanting to keep giving your life up."

Danny ran a hand through his hair, "I wasn't suffering... it was just hard."

"Don't act tough Danny. What you go through can be traumitizing."

"I'm not acting tough. I did love helping people. Not just because of the fame, but because I was making a real difference in the world. I was saving lives. It felt amazing to know that even though some people didn't appreciate it, I helped them get another day to live."

Sam smiled, "See? That's why I got so upset that you gave up your powers. Even without them you sound like a hero."

Danny blushed lighty, not sure what to say so he figured it was his turn to make a formal apology, "I'm sorry too. I guess I'd be pretty ticked off if you had powers that could save lives and just suddenly got rid of them."

The two smiled at each other, the silence no longer awkward. Tucker joined them not longer after, and he and Danny shared the same apology, fist bumping each other. Jazz soon followed and gave Danny a much unwanted hug that made him scowl, but he didn't pull away, instead giving her a feeble pat on the back.

They were once again united. And united, they can help save the world from the asteroid.

END.

And after that, the rest of PP happens. Thanks for reading!


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